A practice round with Katie Futcher is deliberate. It’s a fact-finding mission and it’s also a perfect example of the detail-oriented culture that Futcher has established at Emory, where the girls golf program is only four years old.
“We’re engaged,” Futcher said of that crucial day before a tournament. “Our team is engaged the entire time. We’re going through our plans, we’re talking about our shots. We’re not just hitting it out there anywhere. That day sets us up really well on challenging courses and in challenging conditions.”
Over the final 36 holes at the Golfweek DIII Invite, especially as conditions turned cold and windy at Baytowne Golf Links in Sandestin, Florida, in the final round, Emory’s preparation paid off. Emory trailed Oglethorpe by a shot after the first round but spent the next two days pulling away from the 24-team field. The Eagles completed their title defense with a 12-shot victory at 10 over.
Emory sophomore Sharon Mun won the individual title at 6 under.
The Emory women’s golf team defended its title at the 2022 Golfweek DIII Invite. (Photo: Golfweek)
Emory is a program with Futcher’s unique stamp. Futcher retired from the LPGA after a nine-year career during which she competed in more than 25 major championships and 120 events while earning Class A status with the LPGA.
After a few months spent “in the woods,” she came out on the other side realizing she could put her golf background to use pursuing another passion: helping people.
Futcher spent the 2016-17 season as a volunteer assistant at her alma mater, Penn State (Futcher was the leading scorer for the Nittany Lions throughout her four-year career there). Then she spent the 2017-18 season as the assistant coach at James Madison. She applied for the head coaching position at Emory because it also offered the chance to build a team from the ground up – Futcher is the first head coach in program history.
And Emory wasn’t just looking to just experiment with the sport. The Atlanta school is academically rigorous, and with more than 20 NCAA titles across all sports, Futcher’s drive matched that winning culture.
“You don’t get the opportunity to build a program from scratch at any division,” Futcher said. “I never thought I’d be in Division III, but to be able to have complete control and nobody else to blame if something goes wrong – it’s all your players, all your vision – that really intrigued me and I really was…
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